


Is It Really You?

by avengedearth



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, shallura - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-02-10 04:40:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18653089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avengedearth/pseuds/avengedearth
Summary: A new planet is discovered on the fringes of the solar system and Allura decides to take a vacation there. The city in which she spends her days feels oddly familiar despite never having set foot on the planet before. Almost as if she had dreamed of coming here. Will she ever meet the man of her dreams?





	1. A Dream World

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU set in modern day that I based off a writing prompt that I found inspiration through!

A new planet had been discovered at the very fringes of the solar system. One that was beautiful, but not known for its technology. The Alteans had just finished constructing an landing outpost on the moon of this planet--when confronted directly by Altean visitors, the people had fired upon the ships, but when Alteans had entered the planet covertly, they were greeted warmly by its inhabitants. It was said that these people looked very Altean, minus the markings high up on the cheek bones, as well as having short, rounded ears. Since the language had been decoded and added to her translator’s dictionary, Allura was ready to see what all the hype was about in this new planet.

She packed more understated clothes, not wanting to be known outright as royalty in this new land. The jewelry to match the outfits was small and modest--Allura hadn’t worn the pieces in years, generally opting for more opulent pieces. She looked over her current attire in the long mirror as her mouth formed words in the funny language, practicing for when she would meet this new species. The words felt awkward on her tongue, but the outfit still managed to look stunning, despite how boring it truly was. Giving herself a slight smile, she tapped a panel and the mirror faded into the wall. She headed down to the hangar bay, excitement in every step as she readied for her vacation.

In the hangar, she met up with her best friend, Romelle, and the two of them embraced. “Are you ready for this?” Allura asked her friend, in a tone that showed she was more ready for this than she was going to say aloud. 

“The vacation?” Romelle asked with a cheeky smile, releasing the embrace. “Yes. Whatever trouble you’re going to get us into? Not so much.”

Allura let off a laugh. She didn’t have to be the reserved princess she normally was. For the next two movements, she was a simple tourist, checking out all the sights with her best friend. Sure, it was an alien planet still under observation, but the possibility of imminent danger is what made it all the more exciting for Allura. 

“Time to board, Princess!” Coran called to her. He had just finished inspecting the little ship that would take them to the moon. “Off to--” Coran looked at his hand where he had written the name of this new planet so he wouldn’t forget it, “--Earth!”

Allura did her best not to run to the ship--she wasn’t off Altea yet and must therefore attempt the part of princess. Her excitement rose as she climbed into the ship and strapped in, double checking all the instruments. She had been trained to fly and it all came naturally. However, she never neglected to do the safety double checks. “Everybody in?” she asked, flipping a couple controls before her.

“We’re ready to go!” Coran exclaimed, pulling his own straps tight, having just double checked Romelle’s for her.

“Then we’re off!” Allura toggled a few more switches and the ship rose to hover above the floor as the ceiling above them opened. As they left the building, a wormhole activated above them and Allura directed the ship into it, accelerating quickly. Space flew by them as they sped along and were spit out the other side into unfamiliar space. Well, as unfamiliar as space can be. The darkness was ever present, but constellations littered their vision. Allura didn’t recognize them--of course she didn’t. This was a whole new quadrant that they just discovered. The stars shone brilliantly against the blackness, however, just like every star in her own planet’s orbit. The moon was a bright white with grayish craters pockmarking the surface. Behind it was the planet they were aiming for. White swirled above a brilliant blue and green surface. It was simply beautiful. Just like the explorers had said.

Allura made an expert landing at the outpost and the three passengers disembarked into the building the Alteans had erected there. They were greeted by a man in a uniform from the Altean National Guard. “I didn’t know the Princess was set to arrive here,” he said, scrambling to bow. “Where’s the rest of your retinue?” 

“Don’t worry about them,” Allura breezed, sweeping into the building proper with the air of royalty that had been instilled in her since her youth. “We’re to meet them on Earth. Now, would you be so kind as to send us through the portal to the surface?” 

“O-of course,” the man stammered, hurrying to take the lead and straightening up to his full height, appearing to be the man of rank he was. “Right this way.” His tone changed in that moment, all business. He was a soldier, she was the princess. It was his duty to obey her orders. So long as they didn’t contradict those of her father, that is.

They were brought to the edge of a pool of water at the middle of the complex. Water connects all. It is what binds us together. It flows through us and through our surroundings. And it’s what was to connect this moon to the planet it around which it made its course.

“Have you ever used a water portal?” The man asked, taking Allura’s hand to help her balance as she stepped into the water.

“I know the mechanics, yes,” Allura responded. Then she raised her eyes to Coran and Romelle as she took her place in the very center. “See you on the other side!” She closed her eyes and knelt, placing her hands on the runes beneath the water. Quintessence flowed through her and into the symbols. She took slow, gentle breaths, feeling the water soaking her dress, running over her fingertips and through her body. Each beat of her heart brought her closer to the water and then she was fully submerged.

Taking a deep, gasping breath, Allura opened her eyes. She was here! Tall trees rose around her--taller and wider than she’d ever seen. They were impressive. Beautiful and impressive. As she rose to her feet, the water fell off of her and back into the spring in which she was standing. Carefully, she stepped out and when she found her feet flat on the forest floor, she was dry. All the water that had collected on her during the journey stayed in the spring that had brought her to this planet.

“Welcome, princess,” said a man in strange clothing. He looked Altean, but… off, somehow. Maybe it was the clothes? He wore a pin on his chest that marked him as one of those assigned to guard her during her stay and knew who she was, so he couldn’t be a simple local. “I hope your journey was easy.”

“She was a natural!” Coran shouted, stepping out of the spring after her. Romelle appeared in the water a split second later.

“Good, good. It’s just the three of you, correct? This way,” he turned away from them without waiting for an answer. Romelle scrambled from to spring in order to catch up with him before he got too far. “The first thing I need you to do is a slight shift. The tips of your ears need to be rounded. And smaller, like mine.” He gestured to his ears, though he was walking ahead of them and they couldn’t quite make out the size. “You also need to make your marks disappear.” That was how he looked different from an Altean! Allura realized this was the difference she had noted upon arrival. “The second thing you need to know to get by is this world uses different money from our intergalactic currency, so you will need this,” he handed them each a plastic rectangle. “You swipe it on their pay machines. You will probably want to find more… native clothes,” he said with a slight eyebrow raise. As they walked to their transportation--a car, he had told them--he continued to brief them on the customs and ways of the humans that inhabit the place.

“This is an interesting ship,” Allura commented as they came upon the green Jeep that was to take them into civilization. She poked at the tires and ran her hand along the door.

“This is what they call a car, Your Highness,” the man said, pulling open the door for her. “It’s the main source of transportation on this planet.” It was so… clunky. Like she had been briefed, this species was not very technologically advanced. 

It took maybe ten minutes for Romelle to begin to feel carsick. The ride was not as smooth as either of them expected. Though, Allura had pulled some aerial acrobatics when she was allowed in the training rig, even she had to admit the ride didn’t totally agree with her. She wished they could have been dumped closer to the city than this. The whole lot of them was grateful when their ride dropped them off at what was the makeshift Altean Embassy--though it was marked with strange runes that Allura couldn’t quite make out, her assumption was that it read as such in the native language around here. The one that made her mouth feel like it was full of goo.

A petite woman greeted them upon entry. She, too, was wearing the strange clothes of this world. Allura made a mental note that she and Romelle would have to go shopping later. Romelle would love that. Of course, they had planned to shop at some point all along--how else were they expected to bring back souvenirs? Their trip would just be pushed up earlier so they could blend in a little easier. None of the clothes Allura packed would pass on this planet as the street clothes of a tourist. All of them seemed much too fancy.

“We can take intergalactic currency here,” the woman was explaining to Coran as Allura came back from her mental trip itinerary. “However, you’ll need Earth money should you need to spend money outside of this establishment.”

“We’ve got that covered!” Coran exclaimed, holding up the plastic rectangle given to them upon arrival.

“Wonderful!” the woman replied with far too much cheer into her voice as she launched into an explanation of how to use them. Allura’s mind wandered again as this woman also began to speak of the culture on this planet. All Allura could think of at this point was a hot bath and a soft bed.

When they were finally free of the monotonous account of Earth’s goings-on, the three of them were led up to their rooms. They were a spacious suite with separate rooms for the three of them off the main room and a modest bathroom to share. Allura, being the royalty, got first dibs on the bathroom. After a few minutes of frustration with the shower, she managed to figure out how it worked. It didn’t have all the different scents and soaps built into it that she was used to. Just a temperature knob, the ability to stopper the drain and a switch to change from bath to shower. She opted for the bath, pouring a whole bottle of body wash into the water and hoping that was the right concentration. It certainly smelled nice. When she lowered herself into the tub, Allura found that the water wasn’t as deep as the tubs back home. But it would do well enough to ease the ache in her muscles that had come on from the day’s travels.

As soon as her bath was finished, Allura grabbed a towel. The fabric was rough and unpleasant on her skin and the bath seemed to have left her skin dry, rather than well moisturized and glowing. It was another frustration of this primitive planet. Allura went to the largest room in the suite and fell into the bed. It wasn’t awful, at least. She curled up with her head on the pillow and sleep took her before she could even pull the covers over herself.

___

Allura had wandered off on her own, needing to get a little space from the guards always following her and making her feel like an animal in a cage. She took a deep breath of the air here. It always seemed to have a smokiness to it. That could probably be because of the higher carbon dioxide percentage in the air. It was still deemed to be at an acceptable level for Alteans to breathe without aid of breathing devices. It seemed that at every turn, Allura could find something that reminded her of home and something else that would just be so off were she to find it on her own planet. Like the buildings. They were made of something that her brain told her was concrete. Either that or brick. And the windows were always transparent! You could see right inside to where the inhabitants went about their daily business. How anyone on this planet got true privacy was a mystery. Then again, maybe that was just something you got used to when you never knew anything else.

The streets were marked with the occasional pothole--the government didn’t seem to have the resources to make more sturdy roads nor to fix them when they became decrepit. Allura was getting good at dodging these holes as time wore on in her vacation.

The smell of baked goods wafted through the air and that’s when something in her told Allura to stop in for a pastry. She opened the door to the quaint shop and a little bell chimed overhead. As she moved forward to inspect the pastries in the case by the register, her shoes clicked on the tile. Allura liked the sound, despite how quiet things were back home. It made her feel somehow even more regal. Like everywhere she went, she was being announced without having someone shout her name before she walked into the room.

“Hello, how can I help you?” The voice was kind, but not overly cheery like the receptionist back at the embassy. It was warm and deep. A tone that seemed to strike a resonance within Allura. As her eyes rose from the case before her, she met those of the man before her. His smile was just as kind as his voice, reaching all the way to his eyes and Allura couldn’t find it in herself to look away from him. But her eyes did manage to wander enough to take in his form. The man before her was well built and tall. He had dark hair and dark eyes. His features differed slightly from most of the humans she had run into so far, but still they were pleasant to look at. And comforting. Like she had known this man a hundred years and trusted him with her very soul. But that couldn’t be. It was the first time she’d ever been on this planet!

___

Allura’s eyes snapped open and she exhaled. It was the same dream she’d had countless times back on Altea. But this time, it somehow seemed more real. The sights in the dream seemed to be from a similar setting to the city she was in now. She reasoned with herself that it must just be her overactive imagination wanting to get her riled up for vacation. That’s all it was. Pulling the blankets over herself, Allura tried to sink back into sleep, hoping this would be a more peaceful slumber.


	2. Looking the Part

Allura awoke to the sun filtering in through the window, shining cheerily in her eyes. The light was too yellow to be from the Altean sun, which was more pink and usually filtered through the particle barrier kept up around the castle almost always. Nonetheless, the warmth from the light was pleasant on her face even as the brightness made her want to pull the blankets over her head and fall back asleep. Despite the pleasant warmth, Allura threw off the covers and sat up, stretching her arms over her head. The gravity here was also just slightly different and made her feel strangely compressed.

Shoving herself up from the bed, she rifled through her suitcase. There had to be something in here at least similar to the fashions she had seen the regular people wearing. She settled on a floor length dress--all she had brought was floor length--in a plain purple with cloudy grey stitch work at the hem. At least it didn’t have as many frills as some of the other pieces. Shopping was of the utmost importance.

“Ah, you’re up!” Coran greeted her as she came out of her room. A sleepy looking Romelle sat curled up in one of the chairs in the main room, a cup of tea cradled in her hands. “Perfect timing. I’ve sent for breakfast.”

“What are we having?” Allura inquired, making her way to the sofa situated next to Romelle’s chair.

“Well, here’s the thing… I’m not quite certain,” Coran answered with a shrug of his shoulders. “While this is the Altean Embassy, I didn’t recognize much on the menu. I assume we will be partaking in some of this world’s delicacies!”

Allura hesitated. “That should be… interesting.” Her hands worked to smooth her skirts, arranging them expertly around her legs.

And interesting the food was. When it came, Allura had the grace to try a little bit of everything. For the most part, she wasn’t disappointed. Each new bite was bursting with flavors. From the savory, salty bacon to the sweet and sticky syrup smothered pancakes, each new bite intrigued Allura’s taste buds in a way most Altean food never had. It was certainly a culinary experience.

When breakfast was finished, Allura completed her look by reshaping her ears to the rounded humanoid form of the planet’s inhabitants, shifting the color of her marks to that of her skin and altering her hair color to a light chestnut color for good measure. She had to do her best to blend and on this planet, it was only the elderly who had white hair. With their transformations complete, the three of them met up with Allura’s guards (who blended into this world a lot better than they did) and they all headed off into the heart of the town where they wandered into shop after shop, finding all sorts of trinkets and outfits and souvenirs.

“Oh, my father would love this!” Allura exalted at one point, holding up a polished reddish stone chiseled to look like a lion, passing it around to show the others.

Romelle concurred, running her fingers over the stone’s shiny surface. “It’s perfect.”

Moving away from all of the knick knacks, Allura found more clothes. She tried on several dresses--while a few of them were maxi dresses, most ended up being tea length (or shorter) which she was not accustomed to. She had to admit though, they made her legs look amazing. She even ended up buy a few pairs of what were called jeans. It was strange to have her legs fully encased, but the fabric wasn’t all that uncomfortable. Sure, it made her look a little more manly since most women on Altea wore dresses, but it seemed many women wore pants on this planet. The more she could do to fit in, the better.

Earthly outfits, check. Souvenirs, check. Weird little trinkets, check. Everything Allura knew that she needed was in their basket--which was this thing was on wheels that they had to push instead of it just following along. But Allura just went with the flow. This was just another little thing that showed her the difference between this low tech world and her own. Bringing her things to the front, she handed them off to the cashier. Allura’s translators didn’t catch the total, but it didn’t matter. Coran handed the girl his plastic rectangle while continuing his conversation with one of her guards.

“You’ve got to tell me how you got a sugar daddy like that,” the girl at the counter whispered conspiratorially to Allura, glancing at Coran, who had handed over his card like it meant nothing. No double checking the price or asking Allura what she had bought. Just handed over the payment.

“I’m sorry. My English isn’t that great,” Allura apologized. The translators had given her quite the literal translation of her words and she wasn’t sure what glucose guardian was supposed to mean in any translation.

“Don’t worry about it,” the girl deflected, her cheeks turning the color of an Altean sunrise. “It’s slang. A little bit difficult to translate properly.” She busied herself with neatly folding the clothes Allura had bought and packing them into bags. A piece of paper shot out from the machine and the girl handed it back to Coran along with the card, surprised that the card had gone through so easily for such a large amount. All she could think about was the fact that she needed to find herself a man like the mustachioed benefactor of this foreign girl.

Allura smiled and thanked the girl. Before she could grab her own bags, Coran gently pushed her hands away.

“I’ve got this for you, Pri--sweetheart,” he resounded, grabbing their bags. What kind of man would he be if he let the Princess carry her own bags? The slip up could have blown their cover of simple tourists, but he was certain he’d corrected in time. “Let’s get all this back to the room, shall we?”

“I’m a modern woman,” Romelle remarked simply, picking up one of the bags. “I can carry my own things.” It was so like her to be independent. Her spiritedness was one of the things Allura loved about her. And one of the things that got the two of them into so much trouble.

The cashier gave Allura a knowing look as the group headed out of the store.

“The people here are quite interesting,” Allura commented as they made their way back to their rooms. “I wonder if they would be interested in joining the Alliance.”

Coran twirled the end of his moustache between his fingers as he thought about it. “Perhaps once they get used to the idea that not everything outside their home planet wants to destroy them. They could certainly show some of the other planets a thing or two about the balance between civilization and nature!”

They were taking a different route back to the hotel and it seemed as if to prove Coran’s point, a park materialized within their view on the right. There were trees in every color of red and yellow imaginable, while flowers lined walkways. A few benches littered the paths and upon one of these sat an older woman and a child, birds flocking around them as they threw bits of bread for the animals to squabble over. Vines grew twined around old lamp posts. Further into the park, a child was pulling something off a tree and--did he just eat it? Trees with food growing on them! What a genius idea for the masses!

“Oh, it’s quite beautiful!” Allura sang. “I would love to bring some of this natural beauty to the courtyards back in Altea. Maybe that will cut back on the over reliance on technology.”

The discussion of technology versus nature was an age old debate in Altea. The grounds around the city were allowed to flourish in natural bliss, but within the city--especially inside the castle itself--technology took precedence. Some of the common folk never even had time to enjoy the simple scent of a natural flower, as opposed to the perfumes and room fresheners with their chemical undertones that were common in Altea. 

Their discussion had continued until the park was well behind them. Abruptly, Allura stopped in her tracks, looking around at a scenery she had seen many times before, but only in dreams.

“What is it? What’s wrong,” Romelle questioned, putting a hand on Allura’s shoulder.

Unsure of the possible meaning of this, Allura gave as simple of an explanation she could without giving away information that could make her seem unfit to follow her father’s footsteps. “This place gives me weird quintessence surges,” she muttered, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms.

“I’ve never known you to be afraid of a little quintessence surge,” Romelle laughed, the hand on her shoulder pulling away and slapping Allura on her back.

“This is different. I’ve never felt this before. But at the same time… it’s also very familiar. Like I’ve been here before.” She was quiet so only her best friend could hear her. Someone needed to understand.

“This is an alien planet, Allura. You’ve never been here. Let’s just ignore the quintessence and have fun! Where’s your sense of adventure? You’re normally the one chasing down danger!” Romelle’s words had a hint of false cheer. Her friend didn’t understand.

“Yes, you’re right,” Allura affirmed, doing her best to sound convinced. “Let’s get rid of this baggage and have a little bit of fun!” For all her efforts, her smile didn’t reach her eyes. But Romelle caught her drift nonetheless.

“See you back at the room!” Romelle called back to Coran and the guards and took off running.

A few strides was all it took for Allura to catch up with her friend. Her legs were longer so once they were side by side, she adjusted her stride. The two of them laughed a little, ducking between unfamiliar buildings and quickly losing their babysitters, who didn’t know this city near as well as the castle town back home. The two runaways stopped with their backs against a brick and mortar alley wall, laughing and trying to catch their breath.

“I haven’t done that in ages!” Allura exclaimed as her breath returned to her.

Romelle laughed again. “Me either. I can still feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins!”

“What’s a vacation without a little danger?” Allura grinned, thinking back on some of the trouble the two of them had gotten into in their youth.

“You know Uncle Coran is going to give you a talking to.”

“Worth it,” Allura replied simply, shrugging away from the wall. “Let’s find some more Earth culture. Something we would never have found with guards breathing down our necks.”

“First things first,” Romelle beamed, holding up her shopping bag. “We need to blend in.”

Allura returned the grin. “Good thing you’re a modern woman!”

The two of them ran to the front side of the building and made use of their bathrooms, changing into their disguises. Romelle ended up in a pair of high waisted blue jeans and a pastel crop top that said FANTASY across the chest in white, while Allura’s outfit consisted of a tight navy dress that had no back and was so short that Allura’s fingers skimmed the skin of her thighs. She had to adjust her figure a little to fill out the dress to the same extent that Romelle did, but she looked damn good in it.

“If my father could see us, he would have a heart attack,” Allura murmured, turned in the mirror to look at the whole fit of the dress.

“Only because you’re his daughter. If he saw you on the streets, he would--”

Allura put her hand on her friend’s mouth, effectively cutting her off. “If you finish that sentence, I will have you put in the dungeons when we return home.”

Romelle gently removed her friend’s hand from her mouth. “Fine, fine,” she smirked. “Now, let’s see what this city has for two fine Altean women!”

The two left the building and hit the streets, only to immediately duck into the next building when one of the guards walked by.

Inside was dimly lit, even in the height of daylight hours. A pool table sat in the back corner and the room smelled of stale cigarette smoke. Most of the room was taken up by a long counter with faded red leather stools, some with holes in them. Atop the counter sat an ashtray that should have been emptied four customers ago, but an aging beer-bellied man still flicked his ashes into the bowl. 

“What do we have here?” The man goaded, his voice as oily as his hair. He tried to flick crumbs off his shirt to appear more presentable, but the crumbs turned out to be old stains.

Allura ignored him and took a seat at the exact opposite end from the man, under a faintly flickering light. This wasn’t the type of place she wanted to grace with her patronage, but she needed to lay low until her detainers had passed.

The man scooted closer. “What’re your rates?” His eyebrow shot up suggestively.

“Not for sale,” Romelle interjected, stepping between the two.

“What about you, then? Will you fulfill any fantasy?” He grabbed Romelle’s hand between his dirty, calloused hands.

“We’re not whores. And even if we were, we wouldn’t stoop to someone as filthy as you,” Allura responded through gritted teeth. Removing his grimy fingers from Romelle’s hand one finger at a time with a force that suggested she could easily break any part of his body she wished.

“Come on, love,” he entreated, moving around Romelle to press his overfed body against Allura’s. “It’s just a little fun. You’ll like it too.”

Without thinking, Allura’s hand shot out and gripped the man by his throat. “Touch me again and you’ll lose whatever body part makes contact,” she threatened, pushing him back against the bar.

“Hey, hey! No violence!” A sandy haired man came from the back room. “Out! Get out of my bar!” He shooed Allura and Romelle.

“Gladly,” Allura spat, releasing the man’s throat. She stomped out of the building, running straight into Coran.

“You had us worried sick! Wait, what are you wearing?” He shook his head. “Nevermind. Let’s get back to the room. We can talk about this there.” He took Allura’s hand, leaving no room for questions and Romelle followed behind in their wake.

Upon the return to their rooms, Allura was given quite the talking to, just as promised. ‘A princess was not to behave this way, blah, blah, blah.’ She was also given a warning that if this were to happen again, she’d be sent straight back to Altea. Flopping back onto the couch, Allura admitted her wrongs and surrendered to the punishment of not getting to do any more sight seeing for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to make Altea a more industrialized planet. What Allura sees on her vacation isn't necessarily a huge reflection of what our planet is. She sees the good, being starry-eyed and on vacation, and not the sheer amount of deforestation and pollution that has placed a strain on our planet since the industrial revolution.
> 
> Stay tuned! Next chapter, I plan to include Shiro!

**Author's Note:**

> If you didn't catch it, the scene of Allura walking the city by herself is a dream. And the man in the bakery is Shiro! I decided to write him as if he had never flown to space--therefore he still has a head of dark hair and his own two arms.


End file.
